Has anyone used their checked luggage with a cooler from U.S. to USVI. I'm flying and reading on the American Airlines site that they dont allow coolers as a checked item, yet I'm reading all over the Internet that folks do it frequently. Has anyone tested this rule recently? I'm headed down to BVI (via St T.) next week and want to bring an extra cooler for the charter.

This summer may be a mess with changing rules as we go possible. So I would expect no guarantees. But the way I read the new rules is the exclusion is only for these Caribbean destinations this summer?



Seasonal limitations (June 18 – September 1, 2016)
American Airlines cities with oversize, overweight or excess baggage limitations This content can be expanded
Caribbean

Grenada, Grenada (GND)
Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (POS)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
St Kitts, St Kitts and Nevis (SKB)
Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)

We travel with many checked bags and coolers for pleasure. The only disappointments we have had is the weight limit of 50lbs is getting more strict and troublesome.

Unless you are traveling with exotic stuff(Wild Boar Ribs, Quail Legs, Kobe Beef is the kind of stuff we bother to carry) your group really wants or must have you can do fine with the food available in the BVI.

Brewster we always check one "bag" cooler with Delta to STT, standard size and weight limits 50# apply. Am headed that way in 19 days so let me know if you find out anything different with any new rules.

We have brought down a cooler for 20 + years. Just make sure that you are in size and weight regs. 50 pounds for coach, and 70 pounds for bus or first class on AA. Our group will be down early July with a Colman cooler .

We come down 3 times a year and always use a polar cooler. Never a problem. Heading down again in 8 days

Same here…Polar Bear Coolers are great…never a problem!!

Since I have checked coolers in the past, I had to look this up and you are correct. The AA website states that boxes are prohibited as checked luggage when traveling to the Caribbean and defines boxes as:
*A “box” is any container that isn’t normally used for transporting items for air travel; this includes plastic tubs, containers and coolers.
Although I don't understand why AA objects as long as it meets their dimension requirements, I wouldn't want to lose a good cooler. Maybe your charter company can come up with a spare.
Fred

Seasonal limitations (June 18 – September 1, 2016)
American Airlines cities with oversize, overweight or excess baggage limitations This content can be expanded
Caribbean

Grenada, Grenada (GND)
Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (POS)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
St Kitts, St Kitts and Nevis (SKB)
Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)



San Juan and ST Thomas appear nowhere on that list.


What are you worried about ?

What we have done for decades really has nothing to do with the future. We once carried on many bottles of wine and checked many pounds of dive gear with no hassle or cost.

What you can’t bring!

When traveling to Mexico, the Caribbean or Latin America, you will not be able to travel with:

Overweight items ( more than 70lb/32kgs)
Oversized items
Excess baggage
Boxes*

*A “box” is any container that isn’t normally used for transporting items for air travel; this includes plastic tubs, containers and coolers.

Anybody know the definition of Caribbean?

I just called AA and talked to a rep., after about 15 mins of chatting I was told my Coleman stainless steel ice chest would be fine as long as it did not contain ice and that the lid was taped shut.
WHEELS UP IN 10 DAYS!

We brought a coleman 30qt cooler down packed with meat on AA from CLT to STT without any problem on May 13.

Conch will reimburse up to $40 for new hard-sided coolers that you leave behind, so no need to haul it home and cost to us was only the checked bag fee.

Glad to hear carry on is still good. I just got a Polar Bear 24 Pack cooler to carry on meats and cheeses. All the meats, chicken, and cheeses will be vacuum sealed. I'm heading down to the BVI in a little over two weeks so it's nice to know its still ok.

We always take 3-4 sturdy styrofoam coolers packed with great on-board pre-made apps/meals/foods that are easy to serve and difficult to find. I label the tops with our info and the destination info and "Perishable provisions". TSA always opens but reseals them well. Customs has never bothered with them. You can declare a value - did it the first time when we flew in, but via the ferry it's all you can do just to make your way through the madhouse. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I have a lot of thoughts about how useful hard coolers are while traveling.

I like the ones that roll, so you can toss the duffel(s) on it and be whizzing around in no time after baggage claim.

I just use the cooler as my bag, and put everything in it, and we carry a separate AO or Polar Bear depending on the cold goods to be carried and amount.

Also allows you to carry breakables with no problem and stuff that likes to leak when roughed around in the duffel (bug spray being a common annoyance,sunscreen, etc.)

PRO TIP - by a strap with quick release clip....I think we got ours on amazon....it's so much quicker and easier because someone is going to be ruffling through it all....click click and you done...they're adjustable.

Be safe out there today folks

Just got back. We always take a soft-side cooler packed with specialty frozen meats as carry-on. Everything frozen and we've never had a problem with the airlines. Flew Delta this trip. Saw several coolers at the airport taped shut; obvious that others take things too--nothing new.
Only issue we had was going through C&I in Roadtown. Of the products in our cooler, 10 frozen, marinated chicken breasts created a problem for one of the officers. Even when informed they were for personal consumption, I still had to pay $10 duty for the chicken. They weren't even interested in the shrimp, filets, or other prepped meats. Go figure.

Just returned from yet another stellar sailing trip. We always check about 4-5 styrofoam coolers packed very tight with frozen/refrigerated foods - some are prepared meals and appetizers, things you can't find down there (like Buffalo chicken dip and spinach artichoke dip, breakfast casserole, chicken marsala, steaks, crab cakes from MD etc.) We have never had any difficulty checking them through customs, but I do declare an estimated dollar amount. We just paid $55, which was well worth it, IMHO, as we ate like royalty on board (crew of 12). We usually keep one of the coolers on board for the wine, and all are disposable and left behind. But - they must be the really good, thick ones (think Omaha Meat coolers) or else they can get torn up in travel. With the frozen foods packed, everything is still very cold/frozen 24-30 hours later. I attach a contact list on top, with our info and the charter outfit info, as well as contents: provisions; TSA always opens and re-tapes, with no problems.

anyone ever ship cooler or other items to marina ahead of time? Just curious of cost and if its practical using dry ice. Seems like it would be a lot less to deal with if your not checking bags.

About the only thing that would justify the shipping charge to Tortola by UPS, FedEx or DHL is gold bullion. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

. The insurance cost would break the bank.

Agree - >>We always take a soft-side cooler packed with specialty frozen meats as carry-on.<<

Never had a problem once past TSA - we use frozen (wet) spaghetti as our additional 'ice to eliminate any air space.

I got back about ten days ago from the BVI. Great trip and I ended up bringing a 24 pack Polar Bear soft side cooler down. Took trimmed beef tenderloin, 5 lbs of chicken, bunch of cheeses, lunch meat, and sliced cheese. Froze the meat a couple of days before and pre chilled the cooler with ice overnight.

The meat was still frozen 8 hrs later when we got to St Thomas. No issues getting the meat through TSA other than the TSA agent doing a quick visual check and complementing me on the meats. The ferry guys did "forget" to put my cooler on the dock and after I went through customs in Road Town. They were about to pull out and I was able to go back on the ferry and find my cooler that had been opened but nothing taken.

Good reminder to always count bags frequently... You were lucky(no beer).

In 25 years I have yet to bother bringing food. But am considering it this year... basics like frozen burgers/brats/steaks and maybe a few premade/frozen casserole-type things. Looking at pickup up a Polar Bear 12 or 24 for this... I'm guessing carry-on is the thing to do with these?

What kind of pain am I in for when I get to C&I at Road Town (taking RT fast ferry this time) if I have a cooler full of food?

Bringing frozen food through C&I
is kind of a non-event.
You declare a dollar amount on your
immigration forms.
As you go through C&I, the officer will
ask if you have anything to declare.
That's when you tell about the food
for personal consumption.
He may charge you about 10% of the
declared value. 9 times out of 10,
they skip the $$$ and just send you
on your way.

Mike
Trying to be the man my dog thinks I am

To be clear, I'm talking about the amount of
stuff in a polar bear backpack. It may be
different with a big rolling cooler.

They didn't even ask how much the food was worth and didn't charge me any tax to bring the food in. I carried on my cooler and took the RT Fast Ferry. Heck, I even set off the metal detector going through customs and the customs guy just said don't worry about going through again and didn't even search me.

Have never had a problem or even a question on my Polar Bear 24 cooler contents in the past five years. Have never declared any value on the BVI customs form. As I understand it from the BVI govt. site up to 50 pounds for personal consumption is duty free.

We traveled to Jost in April with a 24pack Polar Bear carry on cooler for the first time. Our flight was delayed TWICE! We didnt get to our destination on time. Everything was nice a frozen. We packed chicken, fish, cookie dough, spaghetti sauce and bacon. We used the blue ice paper from suggestions here on TTOL. They didnt open our bag at customs, just charged us 10.00. They did open the bag in Indy when we departed. Good luck

What is the blue ice paper and is it ok for carryon?

OK, just ordered my Polar Bear 24 and will carry on burgers/steak/chicken and some tupperware-ish meals (the kids love jambalaya on the boat for some reason!). Can't believe it's taken me this long to try this.

Can I ask, what is the "blue ice paper"?? I searched TTOL and am not finding anything.

The other trick is that we'll be staying at an airport hotel to catch our early morning flight out the next day, so I might pack the PolarBear the night before and maybe get some ice at the hotel and put the whole cooler in the tub, in a bag, surrounded by ice. Or something.

Probably means Techniice. It comes as a thin dehydrated sheet. Amazon has it. Soak it in water for a few hours and the gel forms little pillows. The gel reduces the freeze point several degrees but also increases the "heat of fusion", the amount of heat required to melt a specific mass. After you use it you can let it dry out back to a thin seet and store it until needed. It is overall a bit more effective as a cold source than most other gel packs on a volume for volume basis.

Is the 24 can size carry on or has to be checked?

I will start packing my cooler with all the wines to take to Sonoma very soon..such a lack of wine there..like meats down here..

Carry on...